Covid-19 Omicron: Canada to ease travel requirements as virus cases decline

Canada will ease entry for fully vaccinated international travellers starting on February 28 as Covid-19 cases decline, allowing a rapid antigen test for travelers instead of a molecular one, officials said on Tuesday.

Antigen tests are cheaper than a molecular test and can provide results within minutes.

The new measures, which include random testing for vaccinated travellers entering Canada, were announced by federal government ministers at a briefing.

Canada will monitor conditions with an eye on dropping coronavirus testing requirements for fully vaccinated Canadians who make short trips - less than 72 hours - abroad, usually to the United States, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said.

"These changes are possible not only because we have passed the peak of Omicron, but because Canadians across the country have listened to the science and to experts," Duclos told reporters.

About 80 per cent of Canadians are fully vaccinated and over 40 per cent have also taken a booster dose, according to the health ministry.

The global travel advisory for Canadians is also being changed. Previously the government recommended against all non-essential travel, and now it is only urging citizens to take precautions.

"Though today's announcement brings us one step closer to where our industry needs to be, in requiring pre-departure rapid antigen tests, the government missed an opportunity to align with other international jurisdictions that removed pre-departure test requirements for fully vaccinated travellers," the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable industry group said in a statement.

Protesters have blocked border crossings and paralyzed the center of Ottawa for weeks asking for governments to roll back pandemic restrictions. Provincial premiers have denied loosening restrictions to appease them, saying instead that the limits are no longer needed to contain Covid-19.